Twinkle, twinkle, holiday tree...

I'm in a fantastic mood tonight.

Which resulted in me getting sushi from Whole Foods Market.

Which resulted in me eating too much.

Which resulted in me laying motionless on my bed watching movies and digesting.

Huzzah.

I'm excited tonight, because I normally just tell y'all about the Austiny things I eat, which is interesting, but kind of repetitive, especially because I'm starting to find my faves, and that's really not something worth reporting on at all.

Though, on that topic: Earlier this week I had the absolute worst falafel I've ever had in my entire falafel-loving life at this terrible, over-priced Greek place in northwest Austin. It was salt in an open wound; I went in there hoping for a little taste of happiness while waiting for my tire to be replaced. Also, if you don't know what falafel is (ahem...Madre), click here.

Anyway, so, Christmas was yesterday. I was here in Austin, but I got skyped into my parents' living room to open presents, and, unfortunately, had to witness my dad doing a ridiculous dance. Then I made brunch for a fellow far-from-home friend, and then scooted off to spend a few hours at the home of some church friends. Then I fell asleep at quarter to nine because, despite being on vacation, I can't seem to sleep past 6:30am. It was a great day.

Today, however, was this:

(via)

Remember now, I haven't run in a while. A couple of weeks, or so, thanks to a sinus infection/allergies/whatever is making me all snotty and tired. I signed up for this race a while back because I knew I would be in Austin and hey, why not? So today, still a little stuffy, I strapped on my vibrams, bundled up (high of only 51 today!) and ventured out to Zilker Park.

Apparently I've gotten a little better since my first 5K, nearly a year ago along the Galveston Seawall. This is me, coming up to the finish line:

(via Lukey)

It was the first weekend of Mardi Gras, and yes, I'm wearing beads. And yes, I totally was passing that old lady for the win.

Anywho, I ran that race in 34:12. Not an amazing time, but I did it. All 3.1 miles. So take that, high school self.

Today, with KILLER hills flanking the start and finish, I ran 30:39.

I plowed through the first two miles in less than 20 minutes, but my pace fell apart as I climbed, climbed, climbed to the top of the last hill, and then attempted to restore normal breathing on the way back down.

I really wanted to finish it under 30 minutes, but alas, I'm a little more than a sneeze away. And my average pace was still under 10 minutes per mile (9:53!).

Next time I will conquer.

I forgot my camera AND my phone when I went out, so there are no pictures from the race. Afterwards, I sat around recovering until I started to get cold, then came home, warmed up, showered, and headed back out to Zilker Park. By then, the band was done playing and nearly everyone was gone.

But the tree was still lit up.

You're supposed to spin once you're under it like that. You get super dizzy. I wasn't feeling it. Too many small children running around.

But this is me rocking my race tee and giving the thumbs-up for the whole day:

Win.

Oh, P.S. I blew a seam on the pinky toe of my Vibrams (sad panda). But I think I might call the thrift-store experiment a success and consider replacing them with a new pair. I don't run in anything else anymore.

Oh, hey, my birthday's coming up....anybody? Anybody?